Review: Batwoman Volume 3 - World's Finest

As the gorgon Medusa reaches her endgame, Batwoman seeks out the aid of the one person who has experience in combating ancient Greek monsters – Wonder Woman! With the Amazing Amazon by her side, Batwoman must rescue the missing children of Gotham City and defeat Medusa’s army of twisted monsters once and for all.

Batwoman Volume 3: World’s Finest collects Batwoman #12-17 and #0, written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman with additional art by Trevor McCarthy.

World’s Finest is the third and final part of the Medusa saga from Williams and Blackman’s stellar run on Batwoman. In a stroke of genius, they pair Batwoman with Wonder Woman in an incredibly memorable team-up that sees the two heroines working together to defeat Medusa and her forces of darkness. Both writers do an impeccable job rendering the interior worlds of these two women as they head into battle. They are complex and contradictory, which make them tangible and relatable. It’s humanizing to read Batwoman’s awkwardness and insecurity being around an immortal, especially one as beautiful and inspiring as Wonder Woman. It sets a unique tone for their dynamic, which contrasts nicely against Superman and Batman’s. In case it’s not obvious, this is a partnership I’d love to see made permanent or semi-permanent.

The mix of myth and magic with the grit of Gotham City is an interesting contrast that really gives this book a flavor unlike all others within the genre. The usage of Medusa as this arc’s Big Bad is creative and unexpected for a series that exists within the Batman Family line of comics. This also precipitates and helps to reinforce the necessity of Batwoman’s partnership with Wonder Woman. As such, it becomes quite clear that Williams and Blackman were building towards this. This unwavering sense of direction and purpose unfolds not only through Batwoman’s eventual defeat of Medusa, but also in the progression of subplots that required resolution or action. Notably, Bette recovers from her injuries and debuts as the vigilante Hawkfire.

While the team-up between Batwoman and Wonder Woman is the most obvious selling point of World’s Finest, my favourite moments in this collection don’t feature this partnership. Bette’s recovery is portrayed earnestly and focuses on her unrelenting drive to be seen as her cousin’s equal or successor as a crimefighter. The gorgeously drawn two-page spread of Jacob Kane and Bette meditating is memorable for the way in which the characters’ inner thoughts vividly paint a portrait of who they are and what they want. Scenes that focus on Maggie Sawyer are also equally as thrilling. In fact, she’s quite possibly my favourite character from this series largely due to her exceedingly layered portrayal. She is a hero in every sense of the word, but is wracked with guilt over her past and feels powerless in her job to bring back the missing children to their parents. There’s even a poignant section where Maggie recounts a past event where her father locked her in a shed for her inability perform her gender to his standards. Her encounter with homophobia at that young of an age and the effects it left on her emphasizes just how on point Williams and Blackman are with this book regarding the portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters. I loved everything about Batwoman #0 too. This interlude issue gives us a glimpse into Kate’s past and her journey towards becoming Batwoman. It shows us the pain and struggles she had to go through following her mother and sister’s deaths, with one notable scene examining the character’s alcoholism with an unfiltered honesty. The trials that her father puts her through are intense and really drive home how determined and how much of a badass she is as well. Quite honestly, everything about her family and their dynamic is absolutely riveting.

I loved every moment and every panel in Batwoman Volume 3: World’s Finest. It’s evident throughout that Williams and Blackman know how to create a layered narrative using a complex cast of characters. The direction thus far for this title has been on point and has done a marvelous job of differentiating Batwoman from every other character associated with Batman. Overall, this collection functions as a satisfying conclusion to the Medusa saga and it even ends on a couple of juicy cliffhangers.

RATING: A